Who was Gavan O'Herlihy? Tributes pour in as 'Happy Days' and 'Superman III' star passes away at 70

Actor Gavan O’Herlihy recently passed away at the age of 70, and the news was confirmed by his representative. Gavan O'Herlihy was part of several popular films and leaves behind an impressive legacy.

Actress Barbie Wilde, who appeared alongside Gavan O’Herlily in Death Wish 3 expressed her grief on Twitter. Author Paul Tabot shared some details about O’Herlihy’s death on his book’s official Facebook page and reminisced about the time the actor met Charles Bronson on the set of the TV series The Travels of Jamie McPheeters.

Exploring Gavan O'Herlihy's career and personal life

Gavan John O’Herlihy was a popular actor mostly known for appearing as Chuck Cunningham in Happy Days along with appearances in films like Never Say Never Again, Death Wish 3, Superman III, and more.

His father was actor Dan O’Herlihy and his mother Elsie Bennett was a native of Sandymount. He finished his graduation from Philips Academy in Massachusetts after which he attended Trinity College in Dublin. He was also an expert tennis player and became the Irish National Tennis Champion.

Gavan O’Herlihy has been credited with around 30 appearances in various films and TV series and he has mostly played the role of a villain. The two notable heroic roles he played in his career were as Airk Thaughbaer in the film Willow in 1989 and Captain Leroy in Sharpe’s Eagle.

He was seen as John Garrideb in Granada TV’s Sherlock Holmes series, and his role as Chuck Cunningham on Happy Days was well received by the public.

Gavan also played the role of the sadistic killer Dan Suggs in the 1989 miniseries, Lonesome Dove. When he relocated to the UK in 1990, he decided to work in theater and television, and he played major roles on British television.

Gavan O’Herlihy made a comeback to the big screen in 2009 as Sheriff Vaines in the popular horror film The Descent Part 2 and played the lead role of writer John Anderson in Queen of the Redwood Mountains scheduled for release in 2021.

About the author

Anupal is a pop culture writer at Sportskeeda with a degree in Political Science. He developed a keen interest in the lives of celebrities, films, TV shows, and box office collections since an early age. After accumulating significant experience as a content writer across varied fields at companies such as The Indian Wire, DigiStatement, and QuirkyByte Media, he eventually settled on writing about his favorite genre - pop culture.

Anupal believes in conducting in-depth research while writing about any topic and relies on varied sources to ensure he produces holistic articles. He also often glances through content that was published in the 80s and 90s to gain a better understanding of the subject he is covering.

Anupal admires Robert Downey Jr., who played one of his favorite Marvel superheroes, Iron Man. He is inspired by the actor's resilience and the determination in overcoming past struggles to building a successful Hollywood career and admires the way he articulates his thoughts while speaking in interviews.

If Anupal could travel back in time, he would love to experience James Cameron's 2009 film 'Avatar' in a theatre full of fans. When he's not busy working, he binges on the latest OTT titles across languages.

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